On our second day in Chicago, it hit me how different our lives are going to be here. I broke down as I walked out of a grocery store. I didn’t even know the name of the store (Jewel-Osco), but I know we didn’t have a loyalty card there (We do now!). It’s no Bashas’.
The good news is we found a home! We hope to move in this weekend, but we have a lot to do (surprise!) before then, including possibly renting a U-Haul truck because our street is too narrow to have our shipping containers delivered. That brings me to my first lesson in Chicago: Nothing is easy!
It’s an adventure.
Apartment hunting was just that. We were limited in what we could rent because we have two dogs and one of them weighs 100 pounds. Anyone who knows Taylor would say she is the sweetest, friendliest dog, but when you mention that you have dogs people just say no.
Yesterday I mentioned to Graham that we are at the “wall” phase of a marathon. We are so close to the finish but we just have to push through those last several miles. It will feel so good once we are all moved in and can finally start living.

Marette Flora is the founder of Floradise blog and personalized gift shop. Marette is a passionate storyteller and creator. She attended the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University and obtained a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication.
She is passionate about creating helpful and meaningful things.